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Aussie pride at stake as UFC's Gold Coast card revealed

Daniel Sankey

UFC president Dana White (centre) with the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes, Australia's George Sotiropoulos (left) and Team UK's Ross Pearson. Photo: UFC

Robert Whittaker will be Australia's sole representative in the The Ultimate Fighter (TUF): The Smashes finals at next week's Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre ... but there's no shortage of locals to cheer for on what's shaping as an all-action 10-fight card.

Team UK competitor Colin Fletcher's victory over Australia's Richie Vaculik in the second lightweight semi-final on TUF: The Smashes last night put the finishing touches on the card for UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs Pearson, to be held at the Queensland tourism mecca on Saturday, December 15.

TUF: The Smashes coaches George Sotiropoulos (Australia) and Ross Pearson (UK) will have a chance to settle what has turned into a bitter rivalry when they headline the 10-fight card.

Colin "Freak Show" Fletcher will take on fellow Brit Norman Parke in the lightweight final of TUF: The Smashes.

Can't get to the Gold Coast? Don't have pay TV? Don't worry ... Fairfax Media websites will have live coverage from 8am (Queensland time), direct from ringside. Join Daniel Sankey next week for commentary, analysis and all the results.

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Both Sotiropoulos (14 wins, 4 losses) and Pearson (15-6) are veterans of their own Ultimate Fighter experiences. Geelong product Sotiropoulos was a semi-finalist on season six of the popular reality show, while Pearson the lightweight final on season nine.

Early betting has Sotiropoulos ($1.77 with Betstar) — a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and accomplished striker — a clear favourite over the well-rounded Pearson ($2.02) ... but both fighters have their own challenges to overcome leading into the showdown. Sotiropoulos is not only coming off two UFC losses, but also his longest lay-off since making his UFC debut. He hasn't fought since being knocked out by Brazilian Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 132 in July last year. He was due to face Japanese legend Takanori Gomi in February this year, but was forced to pull out of the fight after sustaining a knee injury.

Pearson is also coming off a TKO loss to Cub Swanson ... his second fight at featherweight after dropping down from lightweight. He returns to the lightweight division for his clash with Sotiropoulos.

A proud Australian, victory will be a matter of national pride for Sotiropoulos — of his eight-man Australian contingent, just Whittaker was able to advance to the show's welterweight final.

Sydneysider Whittaker finished both his contests on TUF: The Smashes (via knockout against Team UK's Luke Newman just 19 seconds into his prelim, and again by first-round knock-out in his semi-final against fellow Australian Xavier Lucas). However, he faces a tough test against Team UK's Brad Scott ... a cagey brawler who ground his way to close decision victories over Team Australia fighters Lucas and Benny Alloway.

The other TUF: The Smashes final, at lightweight, shapes as a fascinating duel between two Brits — powerhouse ground and pound specialist Norman Parke, who'll give away more than 10cm in height to Colin "The Freakshow" Fletcher, an unorthodox striker with an underrated ground game.

For Lombard, it's a must-win fight if he's to put himself back in the frame for a shot at the UFC's middleweight title. A member of the Cuban team at the Sydney Olympics, Lombard switched to MMA shortly afterwards and put together a 25-fight unbeaten streak (including a long reign as the Bellator middleweight champion) before joining the UFC to much fanfare. He was an almost unbackable favourite in his UFC debut against Tim Boetsch (USA) at UFC 149 in July this year, but lost a split decision in a contest that failed to excite fans and commentators alike.

A $1.45 favourite with Betstar, he nevertheless cannot afford to take Palhares ($2.72) lightly. The Brazilian, renowned for vicious submissions, has fought some of the best in the business and his only losses in the past five years have been to top middleweight contenders in Alan Belcher, Nate Marquardt and Dan Henderson.

4 comments

Great to see MMA getting some mainstream media attention.

Unfortunately the standard of the Australian fighters wasn't very high on this series. Australia has been slow on the uptake with MMA, and we also have a low population base. Hopefully things will change in the near future.Whittaker was a standout and deserves success. And Sotiropolous should also get back to winning ways.

Commenter

El Rey

Location

Elwood

Date and time

December 06, 2012, 12:01PM

Hi El Rey, thanks for reading (and commenting!). I think dismissing the Aussie fighters probably doesn't give due credit to the Brits ... there's some serious talent emerging from Old Blighty right now, highlighted in this series by the likes of Norman Parke, Colin Fletcher, Brendan Loughnane and Mike Wilkinson.

Unfortunately for Australia, we had a situation in this series in which our best fighter in the lightweight competition was actually a bantamweight. Richie Vaculik was fighting two weight divisions above his normal fighting weight of 135lb. You probably noticed that he was struggling to make 150lb in the semi-final against Fletcher, let alone get anywear near the 155lb limit! Fletcher looked like a giraffe standing next to him.

Grant Blackler's also a featherweight, not a lightweight, and Patrick Iodice, while talented, is still just 19 years old. Ben Wall's an intriguing one, for mine ... he gave a really good account of himself against Colin Fletcher, who could well win the whole show, yet looked like he'd struggle to make middleweight by the end of the season! Tipping we might see more from him if he trains hard in the next couple of years. I'd like to see what kind of fighter he'd become in a high-class team training environment in the US. @georgesots ... any room at the American Top Team gym?

I'm hoping Vaculik gets a chance in the UFC at bantamweight ... he's a tough, fearless and talented fighter who will pose problems for any fighter in that division right now, I'm confident of that.

From a welterweight point of view ... we didn't get to see Manny Rodriguez in the semis because of injury, which is a real shame. We'll see just how good he is on the Gold Coast next week when he takes on Benny Alloway on one of the undercard fights. That fight could well determine which of those two Aussie welterweights gets further opportunities in the UFC.

Commenter

Daniel Sankey

Date and time

December 06, 2012, 2:18PM

Australian, from Melbourne, Gotta back George. Going with the heart. El Ray has it right though, the quality never looked up to scratch and while all fighters were/are tough and are far more skilled than I. I expected more, regardless they all have my respect. Easy to sit and judge, harder to step into that ring.

Commenter

Dale

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

December 06, 2012, 2:18PM

Yeah some fair points in the replies above.

Any of them would smash me without breaking a sweat.

Vaculik did look tiny next to everyone else - why was he in that weight division. Was it the only thing going?

Manny Rodriguez - yes he got burgled by that injury.

A lot of the fighters also seemed to suffer from that syndrome we see plenty of in TUF shows the last few years - talking about going out and being aggressive and then freezing up and fighting super tentative for fear of losing. Dana White keeps saying over and over that he likes guys who come to bang. I think you're more likely to get a start on a UFC undercard by being hugely entertaining than by winning one or two in lacklustre fashion.